Good Morning, Oppo

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 12/17/2018 at 09:12 • Filed to: good morning oppo

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Set the Wabac Machine for 1928 and enjoy this !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! Airman, proudly displayed by Herbert Franklin himself . That’s a fake radiator, btw. The Airman was air-cooled.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > ttyymmnn 12/17/2018 at 09:16

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A ca. 1918 Franklin with coal-scuttle hood is on my bucket list.

Actually, I wonder if there’s a market for repros?

ttyymmnn > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 12/17/2018 at 09:28

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That’s awesome.

facw > ttyymmnn 12/17/2018 at 12:08

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And today (or rather 2018, via Google):

I have no idea if a Franklin was more exotic then than a Fit is now, though I suspect so.

duurtlang > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 12/17/2018 at 12:09

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ca. 1918 Franklin

It’s on vintage Dutch plates, so I ran the plates...

FRANKLIN 9A TOURING. First registration June 30th 1918. Which is probably an ‘I have no idea, let’s list the middle of the year’ date due to it being >100 years ago.

Empty weight: 1045 kg.

Mileage: unknown.

Recalls registered: none.

4200cc, 6 cylinder.

15kW (20 hp)

emissions class: unknown

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > duurtlang 12/17/2018 at 12:26

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Franklins were wonderfully light, as you can see. A mix of using an ash chassis, air cooled engine, and some aluminum bodywork.

ttyymmnn > facw 12/17/2018 at 12:48

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Neat!

ranwhenparked > facw 12/17/2018 at 12:48

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Franklins were luxury cars, not quite to the same prestige level as Packard or Peerless, but still up there in price and exclusivity. 

facw > ttyymmnn 12/17/2018 at 12:54

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I always like then and now shots. If I ever manage to get back to living in NYC, I’d like to find some good old photos (or even etchings/drawings/whatever ) and then take some corresponding photos.

ttyymmnn > facw 12/17/2018 at 13:03

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Ramblin Rover did an exhaustive comparison for a post I made  last week. I still haven’t had the time to go look at it thoroughly, though I certainly appreciate his hard work on it. Lots of solid detective work.

Berang > ttyymmnn 12/17/2018 at 13:37

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I visited the Franklin museum in Arizona years ago, it has a small but significant collection of Franklin cars, including very early, rare examples. Franklin was, interestingly enough one of the very first American cars with a four cylinder engine.

duurtlang > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 12/17/2018 at 15:01

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Honestly, I have no idea how heavy other cars of the era are. Given the 20 hp it shouldn't be too heavy.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > duurtlang 12/17/2018 at 15:16

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By the end, the Model T had a curb weight of 700kg or so - but it was much more lightly built than most of its peers and is really a very small car indeed. A more normally-sized vehicle like an Oldsmobile would be more like 1200kg, I believe, as the F-30 series starting in ‘28 was >1300kg.

Franklin constantly emphasized having lower weight in their advertising.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > ranwhenparked 12/17/2018 at 16:48

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The comparison I make sometimes is to Saab. Middling level of luxury, but branding based on hand-crafting, “better ideas”, aircraft heritage, ride quality,etc. etc. Deliberate catering to the architect, college math department head , etc. sort of archly-snooty top-tier white-collar worker.

If I ever write ‘20s fiction, there will be at least one Franklin owner, because quirky.